The University of Hong Kong’s medical school has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Chinese patients over a 10-year period.
The AI-driven tool, named P-CARDIAC (Personalized Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment for Chinese), analyzes clinical data to predict a patient’s risk of developing heart disease. It can also suggest prevention strategies, rate health records, customize treatment plans for different conditions, and support cardiologists and pharmacists in making long-term medication decisions.
P-CARDIAC integrates more than 120 risk factors and can calculate a patient’s 10-year CVD risk in just seconds. This innovative model has been in development since October 2022.
“Prevention and prediction are the most effective ways to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease,” said Professor Yiu Kai-hang, a clinical professor at HKU’s cardiology division. He noted that while doctors may not always identify all high-risk factors during consultations, this tool can automatically generate risk predictions, helping medical professionals better manage and treat high-risk patients.
Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, responsible for approximately 20.5 million deaths annually, with 58 percent of these fatalities occurring in Asia.
“Heart and cerebrovascular diseases are consistently among the top five causes of death in Hong Kong,” Yiu explained.
“Older patients and men are at greater risk, which is partly due to the aging population.”
Many existing risk-assessment models, typically based on Western populations, are not as effective for Chinese patients, according to Dr. Celine Chui Sze-ling, assistant professor at HKU’s School of Nursing and School of Public Health. The new AI model aims to address this gap by using data specifically from Chinese populations.
The P-CARDIAC model is part of a larger public-private collaboration between HKU and biotechnology company Amgen Hong Kong, which invested HK$3 million in the project. It also has backing from Hong Kong’s Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau. The model was developed using health records from 300,000 cardiovascular patients provided by the Hospital Authority. These datasets are securely stored on HKU’s protected servers.
A pilot study of the model involved 15 patients, with seven pharmacists and volunteers evaluating its effectiveness.
According to the study, 80 percent of patients reported that the model helped them better understand their cardiovascular disease risk.
Looking ahead, HKU plans to recruit around 3,000 patients from six public hospitals – including Queen Mary Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Tuen Mun Hospital – for a two-year clinical study starting in the fourth quarter of this year.
Researchers hope the AI tool can eventually be implemented widely across public hospitals, which could help reduce healthcare costs.
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